Motorsport: Champion Alonso makes history in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Spain's Fernando Alonso was crowned Formula One's youngest champion at the age of 24 on Sunday after finishing third for Renault in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya won the race for the second year in a row while team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the only man who could have put off Alonso's title celebrations, finished runner-up.

Montoya would have let Raikkonen win had it helped the Finn's title chances but Alonso needed just six points to follow Ferrari's Michael Schumacher as champion and it was clear he was going to get them.

"This is the maximum I can achieve in my life and my career," declared Alonso, after embracing his mechanics and brandishing the Spanish flag.

He had pumped the air with both fists as he crossed the line and admitted he had thought about the championship from the very first lap.

"Of course it's impossible to say anything now," he said.

"I'm extremely happy and it's a very emotional day for me."

Alonso now has an unassailable lead of 23 points with two races remaining, making him Spain's first Formula One champion.

The previous youngest champion was Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, who was 25 years eight months and 29 days when he took the crown in 1972.

Starting on pole position, thanks to a lighter fuel load than the McLarens, Alonso soon relinquished the lead to Montoya and settled down comfortably in third after the first pitstop.

McLaren could at least savour a first one-two finish in more than five years, taking the lead in the constructors' championship into the bargain.

"It was a lot of fun, a great fight with Kimi all day long," said Montoya. "Finally we got the one-two that we have deserved since the beginning of the year."

Raikkonen was the unhappiest of the trio but he congratulated the new champion.

The drivers' title was the first for the Renault team, who still have a chance of adding the constructors' crown to Alonso's. McLaren lead those standings by 164 points to the French carmaker's 162.

Seven times champion Schumacher finished fourth, ahead of Italian Giancarlo Fisichella in a Renault and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari.

Briton Jenson Button was seventh for BAR with Ralf Schumacher taking the final point for Toyota.

Williams, whose last win was at Interlagos with Montoya at the end of last season, had a miserable afternoon with both cars colliding at the start.

In a crash that brought out the safety car for one lap, Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia hit the Red Bull of Briton David Coulthard and then his own team mate Mark Webber seconds after the start lights went out.

Australian Webber pitted and eventually rejoined 25 laps down after mechanics had worked on the car.

"I got away okay down to the first corner," he said.

"David and Antonio touched and then Antonio sped into the right of me."

It was the second race in a row that Pizzonia, a stand-in for injured German Nick Heidfeld at the underperforming BMW-powered team, had failed to finish.

At the last Belgian Grand Prix he collided with Montoya, despite being lapped, depriving McLaren of a one-two finish and gifting Alonso second place.

Race classification from the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Interlagos (Sao Paulo) on Sunday

1. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) McLaren 1:29:20.574
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren +00:02.527
3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 00:24.840
4. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 00:35.668
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 00:40.218
6. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 01:09.173
7. Jenson Button (Britain) BAR 1 lap
8. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1 lap
9. Christian Klien (Austria) Red Bull 1 lap
10. Takuma Sato (Japan) BAR 1 lap
11. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Sauber 1 lap
12. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) Sauber 1 lap
13. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 2 laps
14. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Minardi 2 laps
15. Narain Karthikeyan (India) Jordan 3 laps
r. Tiago Monteiro (Portugal) Jordan 16 laps
nc. Mark Webber (Australia) Williams 26 laps
r. Robert Doornbos (Netherlands) Minardi 37 laps
r. Antonio Pizzonia (Brazil) Williams 71 laps
r. David Coulthard (Britain) Red Bull 71 laps
*(rank: r retired, nc not classified)

Drivers Points
1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 117
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren 94
3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) McLaren 60
4. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 60
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 45
6. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 43
7. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 38
8. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 38
9. Jenson Button (Britain) BAR 32
10. Mark Webber (Australia) Williams 29
11. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Williams 28
12. David Coulthard (Britain) Red Bull 21
13. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) Sauber 9
14. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Sauber 8
15. Tiago Monteiro (Portugal) Jordan 7
16. Alexander Wurz (Austria) McLaren 6
17. Narain Karthikeyan (India) Jordan 5
18. Christian Klien (Austria) Red Bull 5
19. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Minardi 4
20. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) McLaren 4
21. Patrick Friesacher (Austria) Minardi 3
22. Antonio Pizzonia (Brazil) Williams 2
23. Takuma Sato (Japan) BAR 1
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Red Bull 1
25. Robert Doornbos (Netherlands) Minardi 0

Constructors Points
1. McLaren - Mercedes 164
2. Renault 162
3. Ferrari 98
4. Toyota 81
5. Williams - BMW 59
6. BAR - Honda 33
7. Red-Bull - Cosworth 27
8. Sauber - Petronas 17
9. Jordan - Toyota 12
10. Minardi - Cosworth 7

- REUTERS